During surgical procedures it is desirable to insert many different instruments within a patient's body cavity, vessel or other location. In minimally invasive surgical procedures, many different instruments must be introduced through surgical ports within the patient's body. Hemostasis valves are used to form seals around the instruments that are introduced into the patient's body.
Hemostasis valves may also be employed on cannulas or catheters that are deployed within the patient during surgical procedures. A catheter with a hemostasis valve located within a first lumen may be deployed within a patient's vessel, heart or other body cavity then a second catheter or guidewire may be deployed through the lumen of the first catheter, passing through the hemostasis valve which provides a fluid tight seal between the two instruments. The benefit of doing so allows the surgeon to make a single incision rather than multiple incisions to insert cannulas or other surgical devices within the patient.
There is a need for improvement of the hemostasis valve, so that an individual valve is capable of accommodating a variety of different sized catheters or other objects penetrating it without leaking or becoming damaged. Further, it is preferred that the structure of the valve be inexpensive and easy to manufacture.